We were lucky to catch up with Jason Basa Nemec recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jason thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
Wow, that’s a huge question. Throwing around the word “legacy” makes me feel like LeBron James, and even though he and I were both born in Akron, Ohio, that’s about all we have in common, talent-wise at least – ha!
Honestly though, I’m trying to build a legacy around helping people feel comfortable and maybe even a little bit special. We all deserve to feel special sometimes, and enjoying drinks designed with care and intention is just one way to do it. With this in mind, I created In Bar so I could give people an amazing craft cocktail experience in the comfort of their home.
And while it would be nice if people thought of me as a knowledgable and technically capable bartender, I’d much rather be remembered as someone who was kind, hospitable, and welcoming.
Jason, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I learned to bartend nearly two decades ago in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was in early 2006, about two years before the whole craft cocktail movement starting taking off in New York City. In that gem of a basement bar in Harvard Square, I made a lot of Cosmos, and a lot of Old Fashioneds with maraschino cherries and orange wedges smashed to bits in the bottom of them. All while listening to a ton of James Brown 45s on the ancient jukebox in the middle of the room.
Back then, I was fresh from graduate school for creative writing and struggling to get full-time work as a college professor. As the years went by, that never really changed; even after I earned a Ph.D. in English, I couldn’t land anything more than adjunct teaching jobs in academia, and that hustle started to wear on me. I got married, had kids, moved to Hong Kong and then Portland and eventually Chicago for my partner’s job… and through all that, I never stopped wanting to bartend. I did however stop chasing after academia. After working at a number of excellent cocktail bars, including Clyde Common in Portland and Scofflaw and Kumiko in Chicago, I felt I was finally ready to start my own bartending business. And so I launched In Bar in the spring of 2023.
In Bar is a bespoke craft cocktail experience, which means I bring the cocktail bar to you. Because while there’s nothing quite like a fantastic cocktail bar, sometimes you just want to stay in! So whether you’re hosting a dinner party or a private event or even a cocktail class that functions as a workplace team builder, you tell me the vision for your event and I’ll work to create a drink menu that you’ll love. Everything is customizable, from the cocktails themselves to the ice to the drinkware; I’ve built menus based around non-alcoholic cocktails, classic cocktails, first dates, even adjectives that describe guests’ personalities!
With In Bar, I’m trying to elevate the traditional catering experience by providing creative, intentional, and memorable drinks, served in the spirit of genuine hospitality and fun. I also offer cocktail program consulting, for restaurants looking to create a cocktail menu that their guests will want to return to time and time again. Bottom line: if you need some delicious drinks for whatever reason, I’ve got you covered!
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Part of why I designed In Bar as a mobile/pop-up style business was because it wouldn’t require a huge amount of capital. There isn’t a ton of overhead. I don’t have to pay rent; I can sidestep a lot of the costs that come along with having a physical space.
That said, of course there were still start-up costs in the first year: investing in good coolers, finally buying a Vitamix for prep work, building a website, just to name a few. And to be honest, I got most of the capital for all this because my wife has a good-paying job. I’m extremely fortunate to have a life partner who’s willing to support my small business goals in this way, no doubt about it, and yet part of the reason she can do such a thing is because I was what the world calls a “stay-at-home dad” for the first five or so years of our kids’ lives.
Though I did a lot of wrestling with my professional identity during those early years of being the primary caregiver for our kids, eventually I came to realize that my marriage truly is a partnership, and that my ability to take care of the kids is what has allowed my wife to have a successful career. I didn’t arrive at this realization overnight; it took a healthy amount of therapy and more than a few difficult conversations. Sometimes there were tears. I mention all this here because I’m proud of our family’s path, and how it allowed us to arrive at the current moment where both our kids are finally in school and I get the gift of being able to create this business on my own terms.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
I get most of my clients through word of mouth, hands down. It’s mostly started with friends giving me a shot at gigs where people get to see what I’m capable of, and then me trying to make the most of those jobs by making great drinks for the guests and showing them that I’m easy-going and hospitable. Which is crucial, because first and foremost my clients need to trust me, especially if I’m going to be working out of their home.
Sometimes you don’t know what little thing you do will end up making a big difference. At one of my first pop-ups at a local business, I remember I was getting close to the end of the time I was scheduled for, but after I had already started tearing down my setup, at the last minute I served one more drink and got to talking to a Chicago police officer who was nearing retirement; this woman was filled with stories and had one of those infectious personalities that you just want to be around. A week later, I got a call from her good friend who booked me for a rehearsal dinner. That was one of my first large-scale jobs, and it wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t give just a little bit extra of my time at that pop-up.
I’ve also had a few clients reach out after following In Bar on Instagram, but I’ll be honest, the whole social media world feels like such a rabbit hole to me, and though I occasionally dive into it, making reels and snapping pretty pictures of cocktails and all that, it’s hard to know if I’m really getting the ROI, advertising and publicity-wise, for all the time I put into it. I’ve definitely connected with some wonderful people on social media, but I prefer making connections in actual physical spaces when I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.inbarcocktails.com
- Instagram: @inbarcocktails
- Linkedin: Jason Basa Nemec
Image Credits
All photos by Azuree Holloway